Yes, this is a life-size Gundam mecha...

Surprisingly, this isn’t a bit of promotion for the new Transformers movie – it’s a full-scale Gundam mecha, built in Tokyo’s Odaiba Shiokaze park as part of Bandai’s celebration of the first Gundam series’ 30th anniversary.

Pictures of the construction have been popping up all over the blogosphere for a few weeks now, beginning when the statue wasn’t much more than a pair of robotic legs, but Gundam is now finished and operational.

Spectacular, right?

Although it isn’t quite as mobile as the mecha in the anime series (maybe it just hasn’t found its pilot yet?), it does have some movement and effects built in: the head moves, it lights up in 50 places, and it spurts out jets of mist from 14 places. It’ll be standing guard over Tokyo till August 31st, after which it’d be dismantled.

I’d quite like to put it up outside the Wired office, if they’re looking for a new home for it!